Merchandising package



April 1961 J. H. FREDETTE 2,979,193

MERCHANDISING PACKAGE Filed Feb. 2, 1959 I III I ZZ HIIHIIHIIIIIIII FINVENTOR. 45 /Z J05PH ms/vzy F077 BY $0 k Q ZL 2,979,193 Patented p 11;

IVIERCHANDISING PACKAGE Joseph Henry Fredette, New York, N.Y., assignorto American Can Company, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New JerseyFiled Feb. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 790,529 2 Claims. (Cl. 206-47) The presentinvention relates to merchandising packages, and more particularly to apackage wherein a compartment is formed at the upper end of the maincontainer by a snap-on plastic cup in order to eifectively display apremium or other article intended to promote the sale of the package.

stant inventiomthe drawings show a merchandising package comprising amain container filled with a product 12, which in the exemplary form ofthe invention is scouring or cleansing powder but is not limited theretoand may even comprise an edible product, and a cup shaped receptacle 14,which holds the premium or other article 16 which may be designed foruse in conjunction with the product 12 and which in the drawingcomprises a sponge.

The main container 10 comprises a tubular body 18, preferably formed offibre stock, and has its open ends closed by upper and lower metal endmembers 20, 22, respectively; .The lower end member 22 is completelyconventional and will not be further described except to say that it ispreferably secured to the body 18 in a crimped end seam 24. The upperend member 20 is In merchandising certain products; it is frequentlydesirable to include in the package a useful article which may be usedindependently of or in conjunction with the product. To be successful,the merchandising package must be such that the article is not easilylost or damaged. It is also desirable that the article be attractivelydisplayed and visible to the prospective purchaser so that his or herattention is attracted and held. It is well known that under modernmerchandising conditions, the ability of a package to thus attractattention is frequently an important factor in determining whether ornot a sale is made.

The present invention provides a package which meets all of theserequirements by providing an inverted plastic cup which is attached toand extends upwardly from the top of the main container which holds theproduct to provide a sealed compartment for receiving and holding thearticle. This plastic cup is preferably made of a transparent materialso that the article is visible to the purchaser, and construction of thecup is such that it can be easily snapped into and out of engagementwith inwardly extending lugs or projections formed in the countersinkwall of the upper end seam of the container so that the cup can beeasily assembled to or detached from the main container.

An object of the invention therefore is the provision of a merchandisingpackage wherein a transparent display receptacle is provided atop themain container at low cost for holding an article or premium which isintended to promote the sale of or to be used in conjunction with themain product being sold in the package.

Another object is the provision in such a package of an attractive cupshaped premium enclosing member which is securely held in place on theupper end of the container by inwardly extending lugs which are formedin the seam as an incident to the seaming operation..

Numerous other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparentas it is better understood from the following description, which, takenin connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferredembodiment thereof.

Referring to the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the package of the instant invention,parts being broken away;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially alongthe line 2-2 in Fig. 1, parts being broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the top end of the main container prior to thepositioning thereon of the display receptacle and its contents.

As a preferred and exemplary embodiment of the informed with acountersunk flat panel wall 26 which at its marginal edge merges into anupwardly extending inverted U-shaped channel 28 which receives the upperend portion of the body 18 and is crimped thereto to form an upper endseam 30.

. The U-shaped channel 28 is formed with a top wall 31 and inner andouter annular walls 32, 34, the outer wall34 at its lower end beingformed with an inwardly turned hem 36 which is embedded in the fibrestock of the body 18 tosecurely hold the end member 20 in place on thebody.

I The'fiat end panel 26 is preferably provided with a plurality ofarcnate cuts 38 which extend completely through the material of the endand provide depressible tabs 40 which, when depressed, provide openingsthrough which the product 12 may be dispensed. This tab constructionforms no part of the present invention, and it will be obvious that theinvention concept disclosed herein may be embodied in containers whereinthe cuts 38 are omitted or wherein other means for dispensing thecontents are provided, as by the provision of a friction plug reclosurein the upper end member of the container.

The inner channel wall 32 of the upper end seam 30 is provided at spacedintervals with a plurality of peripherally spaced inwardly extendinglocking projections or lugs 42 which are spaced above the end panel 26.The locking projections 42, as disclosed in Fig. 2, comprise hollowprotuberances which are created in the end seam 30 by the deformation ofthe inner channel wall 32, and may be formed by using the mechanism inthe United States Patent 2,536,055, issued January 2, 1951, to Carl W.Heinle, and entitled Apparatus for Producing Containers. By virtue oftheir hollow construction, the protuberances are sharply defined andextend inwardly a substantial distance from the normal contour of theinner wall 32.

It should be understood that the invention is not limited to fibrebodied containers, since the hollow projections 42 may be formed inall-metal containers having conventional double seams, as disclosed inthe just-mentioned Carl W. Heinle patent,

As seen in Figs. 1 and 2, the cup shaped member or receptacle 14provides a compartment 43 on the upper end of the main container 10which receives the article or premium 16 which is included in thepackage to induce its purchase.

The cup shaped member 14 preferably is made from a clear transparentsynthetic resin plastic and is formed 2,979,193 I I I e jections 42 whendetachment of the cup 14 is desired by the ultimate consumer.

It will be seen that the article 16 need not be a sponge, but .cancomprise any article which will fit intothe' compartment, and which maybe used independently of or in conjunction with the product within themain container 10. Examples of other articles or premiums which may beheld in the compartment 43 include toys, wash cloths or handkerchiefs,packets of condiments or spices, packets of pigment, etc. It will alsobe obvious that the height and shape of the cup shaped member may bevaried to adapt the dimensions of the compartment 43 to the requirementsof the article 16 enclosed therein.

When the cup shaped member is formed of transparent plastic material, itfunctions to efiectively display the enclosed article 16, therebyattracting the attention of the ultimate consumer and tending to inducehim to purchase the package. If desired, colored plastic may be used tomore vividly vie for the consumers attention when the package isdisplayed on shelves in retail stores in competition with packagescontaining similar products.

It is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantageswill be understood from the foregoing description, and it will beapparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction andarrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope ofthe invention or sacrificing all of its material advan tages the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A merchandising package comprising a cylindrical container having abody wall and a top end member secured thereto in an end seam, said endmember including a flat countersunk panel wall terminating in an annularchannel of inverted U-shape enclosing the upper end of said body wall,circumferentially spaced seam portions of said end member extendingradially inwardly to constitute upstanding hollow locking lugs, and aninverted cup-shaped receptacle of resilient transparent plastic materialseated on said end member panel wall for holding a commodity compatiblewith the container contents, said receptacle having a radially outwardlyprojecting annular head at its open end for removable snappingengagement at random beneath said end member locking lugs for holdingsaid receptable and its contents visible on the top of said container topromote the sale of the package.

2. The mechandising package of claim 1 wherein said cylindricalcontainer is composed of fibrous material and said top end member iscomposed of metal secured thereto in a crimped end seam.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,271,589 Hendrickson Feb. 3, 1942 2,328,543 Bauman Sept. 7, 19432,553,559 Eckman May 22, 1951 2,601,573 Venis June 24, 1952 FOREIGNPATENTS 146,363 Austria July 10, 1936

